[duel] Doran EDH

[AmbivalentDuck]

Edit: Heavily updated list below.

I'm fairly new to EDH, but here's what I tossed together for a casual-ish Doran EDH deck.  The most broken things I can think of involve preventing "powered" creatures from untapping (meekstone, marble titan) and leverage the fairly low CC of creatures with disproportionate toughness (winter orb, hokori).  Am I missing anything?  I'm probably made some dumb oversights.

// Lands
    1  Llanowar Wastes
    3  Swamp
    3  Forest
    3 [BRB] Plains
    1  Murmuring Bosk
    1  Sunpetal Grove
    1  Temple Garden
    1  Godless Shrine
    1  Overgrown Tomb
    1  Scrubland
    1  Caves of Koilos
    1  Windbrisk Heights
    1  Savannah
    1  Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    1  Bayou
    1  Horizon Canopy
    1  Twilight Mire
    1  Wooded Bastion
    1  Fetid Heath
    1  Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
    1  Shizo, Death's Storehouse
    1  Graypelt Refuge
    1  Eiganjo Castle
    1  Exotic Orchard
    1  Wooded Foothills
    1  Misty Rainforest
    1  Verdant Catacombs
    1  Windswept Heath

// Creatures
    1 [ARB] Dauntless Escort
    1  Eternal Witness
    1 [ARB] Grizzled Leotau
    1  Wall of Roots
    1  Arbor Elf
    1  Tireless Tribe
    1  Stonehewer Giant
    1 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
    1  Perimeter Captain
    1  Felidar Sovereign
    1  Birds of Paradise
    1  Forgotten Ancient
    1  Ohran Viper
    1  Shriekmaw
    1  Mother of Runes
    1  Veteran Armorer
    1  Vampire Nighthawk
    1  Master of the Wild Hunt
    1  Devout Witness
    1  Order of Whiteclay
    1  Marble Titan
    1  Stoneforge Mystic
    1  Hokori, Dust Drinker

// Spells
    1  Mana Crypt
    1  Golgari Signet
    1  Selesnya Signet
    1  Orzhov Signet
    1  Krosan Grip
    1  Demonic Tutor
    1 [EVG] Harmonize
    1  Living Death
    1  Aura Shards
    1  Basilisk Collar
    1  Condemn
    1  Sol Ring
    1  Ajani Goldmane
    1  Garruk Wildspeaker
    1  Sword of Fire and Ice
    1  Sword of Light and Shadow
    1  Umezawa's Jitte
    1  Skullclamp
    1 [GTW] Path to Exile
    1  Swords to Plowshares
    1  Survival of the Fittest
    1  Phyrexian Arena
    1  Putrefy
    1  Mortify
    1  Vindicate
    1 [ARB] Maelstrom Pulse
    1  Extinction
    1  Lightning Greaves
    1  Sylvan Library
    1  Tainted Pact
    1 [DDD] Nature's Lore
    1  Meekstone
    1  Talisman of Unity
    1  Consuming Vapors
    1  Eland Umbra
    1  Elspeth, Knight-Errant
    1  Gideon Jura
    1  Oust
    1  Mirri's Guile
    1  Slagwurm Armor
    1  Vampiric Tutor
    1  Winter Orb

// Sideboard
SB: 1  Doran, the Siege Tower

[vassago]

Cycle lands, from onslaught, are a plus.

Profane Command is the nuts, so is Primmal Command.

Crucible....Life from the Loam....strip....waste...

Chameleon Colossuss is sooooo bad ass in this format.


I dont see a lot of late game here....other than that it seems pretty good.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Since I first posted on this, I've put a disturbing amount of time into EDH at the expense of my Vintage testing.  My local shop has an unusual setup for EDH: you have to use the same deck for both duels and multiplayer with a 10 card sideboard that you can use immediately after seeing your opponent(s)'s general(s) to deal with unusual strategies to transition between duel and multiplayer.

Lands
   1 Temple Garden
   1 Horizon Canopy
   1 Bayou
   1 Savannah
   1 Scrubland
   1 Godless Shrine
   1 Overgrown Tomb
   1 Twilight Mire
   1 Wooded Bastion
   1 Fetid Heath
   1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
   1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
   1 Sunpetal Grove
   1 Windbrisk Heights
   1 Arid Mesa
   1 Bloodstained Mire
   1 Flooded Strand
   1 Marsh Flats
   1 Misty Rainforest
   1 Polluted Delta
   1 Verdant Catacombs
   1 Windswept Heath
   1 Wooded Foothills
   1  Forest
   1  Swamp
   1  Plains
   1 Flagstones of Trokair
   1 Brushland
   1 Llanowar Wastes
   1 Pendelhaven
   1 Caves of Koilos
   1 Urborg
   1 City of Brass
   1  Razorverge Thicket

Creatures
   1 Doran, the Siege Tower (GENERAL)
   1 Birds of Paradise
   1  Stoneforge Mystic
   1 Stonehewer Giant
   1  Joraga Treespeaker
   1 Order of Whiteclay
   1 Eternal Witness
   1 Ohran Viper
   1 Master of the Wild Hunt
   1 Devout Witness
   1 Wall of Roots
   1 [DDE] Bone Shredder
   1 Dark Confidant
   1 Mother of Runes
   1 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
   1 Teneb, the Harvester
   1  Grave Titan
   1  Serra Ascendant
   1 Spore Frog
   1 Aven Mindcensor
   1  Sun Titan
   1 Graveborn Muse
   1 Bloom Tender

Spells
   1 Winter Orb
   1 Survival of the Fittest
   1 Vampiric Tutor
   1 [DDC] Demonic Tutor
   1 Enlightened Tutor
   1 [DDD] Garruk Wildspeaker
   1  Gideon Jura
   1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
   1 Umezawa's Jitte
   1 Sword of Fire and Ice
   1 Sword of Light and Shadow
   1 Mana Crypt
   1 Golgari Signet
   1 Orzhov Signet
   1 [DDE] Living Death
   1 Aura Shards
   1 Path to Exile
   1 Condemn
   1 [DDE] Phyrexian Arena
   1 Putrefy
   1 Mortify
   1 Vindicate
   1 [ARB] Maelstrom Pulse
   1 [DDE] Lightning Greaves
   1 Sylvan Library
   1 Tainted Pact
   1 Selesnya Signet
   1 Talisman of Unity
   1 Sol Ring
   1 Swords to Plowshares
   1 Mirri's Guile
   1 Mind Twist
   1 Aura of Silence
   1 [HOP] Oblivion Ring
   1 Bitterblossom
   1 Luminarch Ascension
   1 Phyrexian Reclamation
   1 Armageddon
   1  Dark Tutelage
   1 Ravages of War
   1 Cataclysm
   1 Crucible of Worlds
   1 Aluren

Sideboard
Hokori, Dust Drinker
Windborn Muse
Choke
Tsunami
Compost
Debtor's Knell
Defense of the Heart
Ghostly Prison
Grave Pact
Tranquil Grove (one guy always plays an enchantress variant)

For multiplayer, the mass mana denial (Winter Orb, Armageddon, Ravages of War, and Cataclysm) and Aluren come out opening up five slots for Windborn Muse, Ghostly Prison, Defense of the Heart, Grave Pact, and Debtor's Knell.  Griefer cards don't go over well in multiplayer.

The deck is built on card advantage: if you're not casting spells, I have card advantage.  If I'm drawing more cards, I have card advantage.  Pretty much everything in the deck is acceleration, spot removal, or card advantage.  Over the course of a long game, the strategy usually works pretty well even against blue bullshit like Azami or Grand Arbiter.  That said, I'll lose to Jenara every time because the strategy fails against an opponent who can generate equal (or better) card advantage plus play around mass mana denial.

Anyways, this deck doesn't lose much online or at the local store.  The various card advantages sources are packed with synergy and I've put more time into optimizing this than I probably should.  The only ZMG EXPENSIVE!!! card is Ravages of War and the relatively inexpensive dual lands make up for that.  The Survival of the Fittest is often less than impressive and could easily be replaced with Eladamri's Call since there's often a single creature that will seal the game and the 23 creature count doesn't always play nice with Survival.

While learning the deck, the two most important things to remember are:
1) Doran is a beefy blocker.  Most aggressive decks will have issues getting past him while you find and develop a more powerful board position.
2) Every time an incremental advantage deck wastes a counter/removal spell on Doran, you've just gained card advantage since Doran is always "in your hand."

Blitzing with Doran is seldom the right play unless you think you can defend him against a combo deck's relatively sparse removal.

[Sporkcore]

Have you thought about adding Genesis to go with the Survival? It makes Spore Frog much better since it could be recurred every turn creating a soft lock against aggro decks and allows any utility creatures that go to the grave to be brought back. Also, with all the X/1s and guys with sac effects, I'd find room for Skullclamp. It seems like it would be insane in this deck.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Skullclamp is definitely a consideration, possibly over Survival.  The problem is that the general going to the command zone is a replacement effect.  The most clampable creature in the deck therefore loses an important point of "power" and doesn't yield the 2 cards when it dies.

Genesis performs poorly in a deck loaded with Armageddon effects.  Even 4 mana per turn to recur a Spore Frog is high compared to the one-time cost of casting Sun Titan or the 3 mana to recur it every turn with Order of Whiteclay.  Sword of Light and Shadow as well as Phyrexian Reclaimation perform the same function for a much lower cost.

One thing you didn't mention but I should put out there is Necropotence...I'm not running it but possibly should.  Traditionally, I've found to be a burden to produce, but that may no longer be the case with recent changes to the mana-base.

[AmbivalentDuck]

The deck has changed a bit after months of playtesting.  It has issues with Vendillion Clique and not with anything else.  In testing against Jhoira (which is acutely unaffected by 'Geddon and therefore informative), long testing showed the match to be 55-45 or more in my favor without sideboarding.

Further testing is needed for multiplayer and sideboarding for it, but Bloodchief Ascension appears strong in concept.

Planeswalkers
Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Garruk Wildspeaker

Artifacts
Crucible of Worlds
Golgari Signet
Lightning Greaves
Mana Crypt
Orzhov Signet
Selesnya Signet
Sol Ring
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Light and Shadow
Talisman of Unity
Umezawa's Jitte
Winter Orb

Critters, including the general
Aven Mindcensor
Birds of Paradise
Bloom Tender
Bone Shredder
Dark Confidant
Doran, the Siege Tower
Eternal Witness
Grave Titan
Graveborn Muse
Joraga Treespeaker
Knight of the Reliquary
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Mother of Runes
Order of Whiteclay
Qasali Pridemage
Serra Ascendant
Stoneforge Mystic
Stonehewer Giant
Sun Titan
Teneb, the Harvester
Viridian Shaman
Wall of Roots
Wurmcoil Engine

Enchantments
Aura Shards
Aura of Silence
Bitterblossom
Dark Tutelage
Luminarch Ascension
Mirri's Guile
Oblivion Ring
Phyrexian Arena
Phyrexian Reclamation
Survival of the Fittest
Sylvan Library

Sorceries
Armageddon
Cataclysm
Demonic Tutor
Living Death
Maelstrom Pulse
Mind Twist
Plow Under
Ravages of War
Vindicate

Instants
Condemn
Enlightened Tutor
Mortify
Path to Exile
Putrefy
Swords to Plowshares
Tainted Pact
Vampiric Tutor

Land
Arid Mesa
Bayou
Bloodstained Mire
Brushland
Caves of Koilos
City of Brass
Fetid Heath
Flagstones of Trokair
Flooded Strand
Forest
Godless Shrine
Horizon Canopy
Llanowar Wastes
Marsh Flats
Misty Rainforest
Overgrown Tomb
Pendelhaven
Plains
Polluted Delta
Savannah
Scrubland
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Strip Mine
Sunpetal Grove
Swamp
Temple Garden
Twilight Mire
Urborg
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Verdant Catacombs
Windbrisk Heights
Windswept Heath
Wooded Bastion
Wooded Foothills

Sideboard:
Bloodchief Ascension
-Dumb in multiplayer with so many sweepers.
Tsunami
Choke
-Blue hate
Compost
-Extremely effective vs mono-black
Oblation
Otherworldly Journey
- Control Magic and Bribery effects
Debtors' Knell
Defense of the Heart
Ghostly Prison
Absolute Law
-Stupid cards for multiplayer

[NilsH]

You can play then en-Kor combo in this deck. It has a natural synergy with Doran.

Guys to pump:
Daru Spiritualist
Task Force
Angelic Protector

Ways to pump them:
Nomads en-Kor
Shaman en-Kor
Lightning Greaves
SFM -> Lightning Greaves

If you play Condemn you may get infinite life. Most of the cards is OK by their own: Daru Spiritualist, Task Force and Angelic Protector is good with Elspeth KE and cheap equipments. The en-Kors is a bit weak though, but you can Survival it away when you don't need them.

NilsH

[AmbivalentDuck]

Thank you for the suggestion, but that's a slow and ineffective combo by EDH standards.  You still die to infinite attackers, decking, and general damage.  All relatively prevalent in EDH.

[NilsH]

I'll admit it's vulnerable, but it's definitly not slow. The fastes kill without mana accelaration is turn 3:
T1: Nomad en-Kor
T2: Daru Spiritualist
T3: Doran -> Attack for infinite with Daru Spiritualist

That line of play is very obvious, and will alert your opponent. A more sneaky way is:

T2: Lightning Greaves
T3: Doran
T4: Angelic Protector -> Attack for inifite with a hasted flyer

NilsH

[Joblin Velder]

One of the things I like most about Duck's deck is how little it depends on the general. I'd be leery of anything that really required Doran to work well.

[AmbivalentDuck]

I haven't had time to update this recently, but the deck has recently undergone major modifications.  It's heavier on the control, lighter on the aggro.

I'm updating my sig to include a link to all of my decks (and their revision history!).

[serracollector]

From the decklist posted here I think you should add:

+1 Wasteland (strip mine but no wasteland?)
+1 Realms Uncharted.  This card would be so unbelievably good in this deck I would think.

Otherwise looks very nice duck, i would like to test it against a few of my EDH on mws if you ever got the chance.